KINGSTON SPRINGS, Tenn. (May 21, 2005) - For the 2004-05 East Tennessee State University men's golf team, a championship season came to an end with a near miss Saturday in the NCAA East Regional at the Golf Club of Tennessee.

The Bucs, who captured the Southern Conference title earlier this year, finished the event with a score of 3-over-par 855 and placed 13th, missing a spot in the top 10 and an invitation to the NCAA Championships by five strokes.

Sophomore Rhys Davies (Bridgend, Wales) - who was the second-round individual leader - fired a 68 Saturday for his third-straight sub-70 round and posted an ETSU record for three-round score with an 199 (66-65-68). However, it was not enough as Coastal Carolina's Dustin Johnson posted a 64 on the final day and edged Davies by one stroke for the individual title.

"Obviously, we're disappointed we weren't able to finish the round strong," said ETSU head coach Fred Warren. "We started well, but I've been concerned about our depth all year and for the last two days we've had to count 78s. You can't say enough about Rhys and what he did for us. Unfortunately, Dustin Johnson got hot at the right time. I was very proud of Gareth (Shaw) and Cian (McNamara) for their efforts and their play this weekend. There are a lot of good things out there for this team, but this year we just came up a little short."

While Davies did not win the event, his second-place finish does garner an invitation to compete as an individual at the NCAA Championship in June. However, that event conflicts with the schedule for the 2005 British Amateur, leaving Davies to make a decision on which to attend. He will make that choice on Sunday.

As for the rest of the Bucs, Shaw, a freshman from Lisburn, Northern Ireland, finished the tournament at 1-under-par and tied for 24th. Meanwhile, McNamara, a freshman from Limerick, Ireland, ended at 2-over and tied for 42nd on the leaderboard.